Turkiye launches new airstrikes against Kurdish militant sites in Syria, Iraq following Ankara terror attack

Turkiye has launched a new round of airstrikes against Kurdish militant sites and targets in Syria and Iraq, after establishing a connection between the attempted terror attack in Ankara and the wider Kurdish militant networks within the region.

Speaking at a news conference yesterday, Turkish Foreign Minister, Hakan Fidan, stated that Turkish intelligence confirmed that the two assailants involved in Sunday’s terror attack in Ankara had been trained in Syria by the Kurdish militias affiliated to the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and that they were transported to Turkiye to carry out the attack.

As a result, Fidan announced that Turkiye would now target facilities in Syria and Iraq belonging to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and the Syrian Kurdish militias that Ankara insists is directly connected to the PKK, such as the People’s Defence Units (YPG).

“From now on, all infrastructure, superstructure and energy facilities belonging to the PKK or the YPG in Iraq and Syria are legitimate targets of our security forces, armed forces and intelligence elements,”  Fidan stated. “Our armed forces’ response to this terrorist attack will be extremely clear and they will regret committing such an act.”

Read: President Erdogan condoles with family of Turkiye citizen killed by PKK terrorist group

Just hours later, Turkish jets struck 22 suspected PKK positions in northern Iraq, destroying caves, shelters and depots used by the militants, according to a statement by the Defence Ministry. It was the latest action since the Turkish Air Force struck 20 other suspected PKK sites in northern Iraq three days earlier in retaliation for the terror attack.

There have emerged reports, however, that the strikes have also been targeting civilian infrastructure in northern and north-east Syria, such as the Amuda Power Station today.

Fire brigades extinguish fire at power station in the town of Amuda in the west of Qamishli, #NE_Syria, as a result of Turkish drone strikes on Oct. 5, 2023. pic.twitter.com/m3Bg4U7TmL

— NORTH PRESS AGENCY – ENGLISH (@NPA_English) October 5, 2023

Many of those reports and outcry by critics – primarily Syrian Kurdish sources and accounts – claim that Ankara is using the attempted terror attack as a pretext and justification to further target the Kurdish militant sites in the region.

The Syrian Kurdish militias have denied their involvement in the PKK’s attack, with the SDF’s commander Mazloum Abdi insisting on Wednesday that the attackers were not trained in Syria and that they “did not pass through our territories” in north-east Syria into Turkiye.